Section 6 - Oversight of Forest and Range Practices Flashcards
Describe “results based legislation”
Establishes methods to assess compliance, conformance and the performance of practices, and whether they achieve the objectives. A continuous improvement process of sorts.
What is the Forest Practices Board?
An independent public agency established in 1995 that functions as a watchdog for sound forest and range practices in BC.
What are the Forest Practices Board 4 main roles?
- Independent auditing of compliance with, and enforcement of, FRPA and WA
- Independent investigation of public complains about compliance with and enforcement of FRPA ad WA
- Special investigations of issues related to forestry and range practices
- In the absence of the general public’s right to appeal decisions made un der FRPA, an avenue for the public to request administrative appeals
What issues does the Board have authority to address?
Operational planning, forest and range practices, protection of forest resources and authority of government for fire prevention and control, and the appropriateness of government enforcement
What issues does the Boar NOT have authority to address?
Private land (except included in a tree farm or woodlot license), land use decisions or strategic planning, liability matters, other legislation such as the Forest Act or the Land Act
What is CEB and what is the primary objective of CEB?
Compliance and enforcement branch.
- to promote compliance and ensure statutory obligations pertaining to natural resources are enforced
- protecting the interests of the public/Crown and mitigating impacts to the environment
What is the CEB scope of operations?
water stewardship
fish habitat
abandoned tenure
forest operations, range practices
forest recreation use
off road vehicle and access management
environmental protection
wildfire use
wildlife habitat protection
road construction, maintenance, deactivation and use
What are the key responsibilities of C&E?
- protect economic or social interests
- environmental protection
- protect revenue loss
- improve public health and safety
What is FREP and when was it established?
Forest and Range Evaluation Program, est. 2003
- monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of FRPA and its regulations achieving objectives set by government
- sustainable use of the 11 resource values identified under FRPA
- district level evaluations, improve on-the-ground practices
What are the government objectives of FREP?
A long term commitment by government to:
1. assess the impacts of forest and range development on the 11 FRPA resource values to determine if on-the-ground results are sustainable
2. identify resource values status, trends and causal factors
3. identify opportunities for continued improvement of practices, policies and legislation
What is forest certification?
A voluntary process (not required or legislated by govt) that provides third party, independent verification that a woodland operations is being managed according to a set of principles and requirements specified by a particular certification program.
What is the goal of forest certification?
To establish fair, objective, and globally applicable standards for sustainable forest management (SFM).
If forest certification standards are to evaluate forest management, the standards should…
- reflect a balance of forest interests
- be objective and scientifically-based
- be implementable, practical and cost effective
- be consistent with nation and international agreements related to sustainable forest management
What is the difference between SFM and C&I?
SFM recognized the environmental, social and economic value of forests, and strives to find the balance to address the needs of present and future generations.
C&I (criteria and indicators) are designed to provide information and improve understanding about the balance, by incorporating explicit values and measures over time.
What are C&I?
Criteria and indicators
- tools for assessing trends in the condition of forests and the goods and services derived from forests for promoting SFM
- enables reliable verification and reporting about the progress towards sustainability of forests